Coil segment manufacturing apparatus and coil segment manufacturing method

ABSTRACT

A coil segment manufacturing apparatus includes a conducting wire material feeder which repeatedly feeds a conducting wire material while changing the feeding amount and interposing a processing time, a coating remover which removes an insulation coating of the conducting wire material at a removal position each time the processing time is reached, and a conducting wire material cutter which cuts the conducting wire material each time the processing time is reached.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a coil segment manufacturing apparatusand a coil segment manufacturing method for manufacturing coil segments,which have a plurality of different lengths, and the insulation coatingsof both ends of which have been removed, from a coil conducting wirematerial provided with an insulation coating.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, such coil segments are used to form a stator coil. Toform the stator coil, a number of coil segments formed substantiallyinto a U shape are arranged in an annular shape, the central portions ofthe U-shaped coil segments being overlapped, and both ends of theU-shaped coil segments are inserted into the slots of a stator core.Thus, the ends of each coil segment project from each slot. Then, theprojecting ends of the coil segments are joined to constitute the statorcoil (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3894004).

Further, a plurality of coil segments used in the form of a bundle havealso been known (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.2012-165624). Each bundle of the coil segments is formed into a U shape.A plurality of the formed coil segment bundles are annularly arrangedsuch that they partly overlap, and both ends thereof are inserted intothe slots of a stator core. The end portions of the coil segments thatproject from the slots are bent and joined to corresponding ends, thusconstituting a stator coil.

To constitute the stator coil by using the foregoing coil segmentbundles, the corresponding ends of the coil segments are joined.Therefore, when the coil segments constituting each bundle are insertedinto the slots of the stator core, the portions that project from theslots are required to have the same length.

A possible method for obtaining the same length is to cut the ends ofthe bundled coil segments to the same length after the coil segments areformed into the bundle. However, the bundles of coil segments that havebeen formed are not linear, thus requiring a complicated apparatus forcutting the ends of the bundles to the same length. As a possiblealternative method to obviate the need for using such a complicatedapparatus, coil segments for constituting a bundle are set to differentlengths beforehand such that the end portion of a bundle will be thesame after the bundle is formed.

However, manufacturing a large volume of coil segments having differentlengths would require that a cutting apparatus be used for eachdifferent length, meaning that separate apparatuses be used fordifferent lengths, as well as an apparatus for gathering coil segmentsone by one of different lengths into a bundle. In addition, theprocessing by such an apparatus requires a certain time, leading todeteriorated manufacturing efficiency.

Further, both end portions of the coil segments must be in a state suchthat the insulation coatings are removed. This may be implemented byfirst removing the insulation coating of a portion of the conductingwire material that will be cut and then cutting the conducting wirematerial at the portion in the process of feeding and cutting theconducting wire material.

In this case, if the lengths of the coil segments are the same, then afeeding operation, in which the conducting wire material is fed by apredetermined feeding amount, is repeated, and the insulation coating isremoved and the conducting wire material is cut at the same timing insynchronization with the repetition of the feeding operation. If,however, the lengths of the coil segments are different, then theremoval of the insulation coating and the cutting of the conducting wirematerial have to be carried out at different timings while changing thefeeding amount of the conducting wire material for each feedingoperation. This leads to deteriorated production efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a coil segmentmanufacturing apparatus and a coil segment manufacturing method thatpermit efficient manufacture of coil segments of a plurality ofdifferent lengths by a simple apparatus.

To this end, according to the present invention, there is provided acoil segment manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing coil segments,insulation coatings of both ends of which have been removed and whichhave a plurality of different lengths, from a coil conducting wirematerial provided with an insulation coating, including: a conductingwire material feeder which repeats a feeding operation to feed theconducting wire material by a predetermined feeding amount along a fixedfeeding route while sequentially changing the feeding amount to aplurality of different feeding amounts corresponding to the plurality ofdifferent lengths for each feeding operation and also interposing apredetermined processing time between the feeding operations; a coatingremover which removes the insulation coating of the conducting wirematerial at a removal position on the feeding route within theprocessing time each time the processing time is reached; a conductingwire material cutter which cuts the conducting wire material at acutting position on the feeding route within the processing time eachtime the processing time is reached; and a removal position changerwhich changes the removal position in synchronization with the change ofthe feeding amount such that the insulation coating is removed at aportion that includes the position at which the cutting of theconducting wire material is carried out.

According to the present invention, the feeding amount is changed amongthe plurality of different feeding amounts and also the predeterminedprocessing time is interposed while the conducting wire material isbeing fed. Then, each time the processing time is reached, theinsulation coating of the conducting wire material is removed at theremoval position and the conducting wire material is cut at the cuttingposition. At this time, the removal position is changed insynchronization with the change of the feeding amount of the conductingwire material such that the insulation coating is removed at a portionthat includes the position at which the conducting wire material is cut.

Thus, coil segments can be manufactured by removing the insulationcoating and cutting the conducting wire material at the same time foreach feed of the conducting wire material by a single apparatus as withthe case where the conducting wire material is fed by a fixed feedingamount and sequentially cut to manufacture coil segments of the samelength. Hence, coil segments of a plurality of different lengths can beefficiently manufactured by an apparatus having a simple configuration.

According to the present invention, the conducting wire material mayhave a quadrangular cross section having a first side surface and asecond side surface corresponding to one pair of opposite sides of thequadrangle and a third side surface and a fourth side surfacecorresponding to the other pair of opposite sides, the removal positionmay include a first removal position and a second removal position thatis on a downstream side relative to the first removal position, thecoating remover may be provided with a first remover which removes theinsulation coating of the first side surface and the second side surfaceat the first removal position and a second remover which removes, at thesecond removal position, the insulation coating of the third sidesurface and the fourth side surface of the same portion as the portionof the conducting wire material, at which the insulation coating havebeen removed by the first remover, within the processing time that isdifferent from the processing time for the removal of the insulationcoating by the first remover.

This arrangement makes it possible to first remove the insulationcoating from the first side surface and the second side surface by thefirst remover and feed the conducting wire material once by theconducting wire material feeder, and then remove the insulation coatingfrom the third side surface and the fourth side surface by the secondremover. Hence, the insulation coating can be removed by using a simpleconstruction even in the case where, for example, a rectangular wirehaving a rectangular cross section is used as the conducting wirematerial.

The present invention provides a method for manufacturing coil segments,the insulation coatings of both ends of which have been removed andwhich have a plurality of different lengths, from a coil conducting wirematerial provided with an insulation coating, the method including: astep of repeating an operation for feeding the conducting wire materialby a predetermined feeding amount along a fixed feeding route whilesequentially changing the feeding amount to a plurality of differentfeeding amounts corresponding to the plurality of different lengths foreach feeding operation and also interposing a predetermined processingtime between the feeding operations; a removal step of removing theinsulation coating of the conducting wire material at a removal positionon the feeding route within the processing time each time the processingtime is reached; and a cutting step of cutting a portion of theconducting wire material, at which the insulation coating has beenremoved in the removal step, at a cutting position on the feeding routewithin the processing time each time the processing time is reached,wherein the removal step and the cutting step are concurrently carriedout.

With this arrangement, each time the processing time is reached, theremoval step and the cutting step are concurrently carried out at theremoval position and the cutting position, respectively, on the feedingroute of the conducting wire material. Therefore, the coil segmentshaving a plurality of different lengths can be efficiently manufacturedon a single feeding route.

The manufacturing method according to the present invention may includea removal position changing step for changing the removal position insynchronization with the change of the feeding amount such that theinsulation coating is removed at a portion that includes the position atwhich the conducting wire material is cut.

With this arrangement, merely changing the removal position insynchronization with the change of the feeding amount allows theconducting wire material to be cut at the portion where the insulationcoating has been removed. This makes it possible to manufacture coilsegments having a plurality of different lengths by a further simplifiedmethod.

In the coil segment manufacturing method according to the presentinvention, the conducting wire material may have a quadrangular crosssection, a first side surface and a second side surface corresponding toone pair of opposite sides of the quadrangle and a third side surfaceand a fourth side surface corresponding to the other pair of oppositesides, the removal position may include a first removal position and asecond removal position that is on a downstream side relative to thefirst removal position, and the removal step may include a first removalstep of removing the insulation coating of the first side surface andthe second side surface at the first removal position and a secondremoval step of removing, at the second removal position, the insulationcoating of the third side surface and the fourth side surface of thesame portion as the portion of the conducting wire material, at whichthe insulation coating has been removed by the first removal step,within the processing time that is different from the processing timefor the removal of the insulation coating by the first removal step.

This arrangement makes it possible to first remove the insulationcoating from the first side surface and the second side surface by thefirst removal step and feed the conducting wire material once by thefeeding step, and then remove the insulation coating from the third sidesurface and the fourth side surface by the second removal step. Hence,the insulation coating can be removed by a simple method even in thecase where, for example, a rectangular wire having a rectangular crosssection is used as the conducting wire material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating major constituent elements of a coilsegment manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view illustrating a conducting wire materialsupplied to the coil segment manufacturing apparatus in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating how an insulation coating is removedby a first remover of the coil segment manufacturing apparatus in FIG.1;

FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating how an insulation coating is removedby a second remover of the coil segment manufacturing apparatus in FIG.1;

FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating a first removal position P1 a and asecond removal position P2 a immediately after the conducting wirematerial has been fed by a feeding amount fd in the coil segmentmanufacturing apparatus in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating a first removal position P1 b and asecond removal position P2 b immediately after the conducting wirematerial has been fed by a feeding amount fa;

FIG. 4C is a diagram illustrating a first removal position P1 c and asecond removal position P2 c immediately after the conducting wirematerial has been fed by a feeding amount fb;

FIG. 4D is a diagram illustrating a first removal position P1 d and asecond removal position P2 d immediately after the conducting wirematerial has been fed by a feeding amount fc; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the coil segment manufacturingprocess carried out by the coil segment manufacturing apparatus in FIG.1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following will describe an embodiment of the present invention withreference to the accompanying drawings. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a coilsegment manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment isused to manufacture coil segments, which have a plurality of differentlengths and the insulation coatings of both ends of which have beenremoved, from a conducting wire material 2 for coil that is providedwith an insulation coating.

As the conducting wire material 2, a rectangular wire is used. Morespecifically, the cross section of the conducting wire material 2 has arectangular shape, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The conducting wirematerial 2 has a first side surface 3 and a second side surface 4corresponding to each long sides of the rectangle and a third sidesurface 5 and a fourth side surface 6 corresponding to each short sidesof the rectangle. The conducting wire material 2 is constituted of aconductive section 7 made of copper or the like and an insulationcoating 8 covering the surrounding of the conductive section 7.

The coil segments manufactured from the conducting wire material 2 havefour different lengths. The coil segments 2 of the four differentlengths are bundled in a subsequent process such that each bundlecontains four coil segments, each of which has a different length. Then,each bundle is formed to be used for constituting a stator coil.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the coil segment manufacturing apparatus 1 hasa conducting wire material feeder 10 that feeds the conducting wirematerial 2 along a feeding route 9, a coating remover 12 that removes aninsulation coating 8 from the conducting wire material 2 at a removalposition P on the feeding route 9, and a conducting wire material cutter14 that cuts the conducting wire material 2 at a cutting position CP onthe feeding route 9. The conducting wire material 2 is supplied from aconducting wire material winder (not illustrated) to the coil segmentmanufacturing apparatus 1 and introduced onto the feeding route 9through a roller 15.

A thickness-direction corrector 16 and a width-direction corrector 17,which correctively straighten the conducting wire material 2 that hasbeen introduced, are provided between the roller 15 and the coatingremover 12. The thickness-direction corrector 16 corrects the conductingwire material 2, which has been introduced, in the thickness direction,while the width-direction corrector 17 corrects the conducting wirematerial 2, which has been introduced, in the width direction.

The conducting wire material feeder 10 has a traveling stage 19, whichis run by a linear motor on a rail 18 along the feeding route 9, and aclamp unit 20, which is provided on the traveling stage 19 andclamps/unclamps the conducting wire material 2. The conducting wirematerial feeder 10 repeats an operation for clamping the conducting wirematerial 2, moving the traveling stage 19 by a predetermined feedingamount in a downstream direction of the feeding route 9, unclamping theconducting wire material 2 and then returning the traveling stage 19 inan upstream direction thereof, thereby feeding the conducting wirematerial 2 in the downstream direction.

While the feeding operation by the conducting wire material feeder 10 isrepeated, the feeding amount of the conducting wire material 2 ischanged. The feeding amount is changed among four different feedingamounts corresponding to the four different lengths of the coil segmentsto be fabricated. A predetermined processing time T is provided betweenthe feeding operations.

The coating remover 12 has a first remover 21 that removes theinsulation coating 8 from the first side surface 3 and the second sidesurface 4 of the conducting wire material 2 that has been correctivelystraightened (refer to FIG. 2) and a second remover 22 that removes theinsulation coating 8 from the third side surface 5 and the fourth sidesurface 6.

The first remover 21 has a removing mold 23 for cutting off and removingthe insulation coating 8 of the conducting wire material 2 and a molddriver 24, which drives the removing mold 23. The removing mold 23 hastwo removing blades 25, as illustrated in FIG. 3A. The mold driver 24moves the removing blades 25 along the first side surface 3 and thesecond side surface 4 of the conducting wire material 2 to cut andremove the insulation coating 8 from the corresponding portions on thefirst side surface 3 and the second side surface 4.

The second remover 22 has a removing mold 26 for cutting off andremoving the insulation coating 8 and a mold driver 27, which drives theremoving mold 26. The removing mold 26 has two removing blades 28, asillustrated in FIG. 3B. The mold driver 27 moves the two removing blades28 along the third side surface 5 and the fourth side surface 6 of theconducting wire material 2 to cut and remove the insulation coating 8from the corresponding portions on the third side surface 5 and thefourth side surface 6.

The conducting wire material cutter 14 has a cutting mold 29, which cutsthe conducting wire material 2, and a mold driver 30, which drives thecutting mold 29. The mold driver 30 drives the cutting mold 29 to cutthe conducting wire material 2 sequentially fed by the conducting wirematerial feeder 10.

The foregoing removal position P at which the insulation coating 8 isremoved includes a first removal position P1 and a second removalposition P2 on a downstream side relative to the first removal positionP1. The removal of the insulation coating 8 by the first remover 21 iscarried out at the first removal position P1 within the processing timeT each time the processing time T is reached. The removal of theinsulation coating by the second remover 22 is carried out at the secondremoval position P2 within the processing time T each time theprocessing time T is reached.

As will be discussed hereinafter, the removal of the insulation coating8 at the first removal position P1 is carried out within the processingtime T and then the removal of the insulation coating 8 at the secondremoval position P2 is carried out within the next processing time T. Bythe removal processing in the both processing times T, the insulationcoating 8 of the first to the fourth side surfaces 3 to 6 at the sameportion in the direction of the length of the conducting wire materials2 is removed.

The conducting wire material 2 is cut by the conducting wire materialcutter 14 at the cutting position CP, which is on the downstream siderelative to the first removal position P1 and the second removalposition P2, within the processing time T each time the processing timeT is reached. A transfer unit 33 which transfers the portions cut andseparated from the conducting wire materials 2 to the next step as acoil segment 32 is provided on the downstream side relative to theconducting wire material cutter 14. The transfer unit 33 is constitutedof a transfer roller 34 and a conveyor 35.

The first remover 21 is provided with a first removal position changer36 that changes the foregoing first removal position P1 insynchronization with the change of the feeding amount in the conductingwire material feeder 10. The first removal position changer 36 has afirst stage 38 slidably provided on a rail 37. The first stage 38, whichsupports the first remover 21, is driven by a linear motor (notillustrated) to travel on the rail 37 to change the first removalposition P1.

As the means for moving the first stage 38 on the rail 37, a ball screwand a servo motor that rotates the nut or the threaded shaft of the ballscrew may be used in place of the linear motor.

The second remover 22 is provided with a second removal position changer39 that changes the foregoing second removal position P2 insynchronization with the change of the feeding amount in the conductingwire material feeder 10. The second removal position changer 39 isconstituted of a second stage 40 slidably provided on the rail 37. Thesecond stage 40, which supports the second remover 22, is driven by alinear motor (not illustrated) to travel on the rail 37 to change thesecond removal position P2.

The first removal position P1 and the second removal position P2 arechanged by the following change amount and at the following timing suchthat the conducting wire material 2 is cut at the cutting position CP atthe center of the portion in which the insulation coating 8 has beenremoved.

FIG. 4 illustrates the conducting wire material 2 and the first removalposition P1 (P1 a to P1 d) and the second removal position P2 (P2 a toP2 d), which are changed in synchronization with the change of theamount of feed of the conducting wire material 2 by the conducting wirematerial feeder 10. As illustrated in FIG. 4A to FIG. 4D, in order tomanufacture coil segments 32 (32 a to 32 d) having four differentlengths La to Ld, the conducting wire material 2 is repeatedly fed tothe cutting position CP by feeding amounts fa to fd in this order, whichcorrespond to the lengths La to Ld.

For each feeding cycle, the insulation coating 8 is removed by the firstremover 21 and the second remover 22 and the conducting wire material 2is cut by the conducting wire material cutter 14 within the processingtime T. In FIG. 4A to FIG. 4D, the proportions of the feeding amounts fato fd are exaggeratedly illustrated. For example, the actual feedingamount fa (the length La of the coil segment 32 a) is approximately 280mm. The feeding amounts fa to fd have values that decrease by, forexample, 2 mm, in this order.

More specifically, FIG. 4A illustrates the first removal position P1 aand the second removal position P2 a at the processing time Timmediately after the conducting wire material 2 has been fed by thefeeding amount fd. The second removal position P2 a indicates a positionthat is apart from the cutting position CP by the feeding amount fa forthe next feed. The first removal position P1 a indicates a position thatis further apart by the feeding amount fb for the subsequent feed.

In the state illustrated in FIG. 4A, the insulation coating 8 is removedby the first remover 21 at the first removal position P1 a within theprocessing time T. At the same time, the insulation coating 8 is removedby the second remover 22 at the second removal position P2 a.

The portion of the conducting wire material 2, the insulation coating 8of which is removed by the second remover 22, is the portion having theinsulation coating 8 thereof already removed by the first remover 21 atthe first removal position P1 d in FIG. 4D, which will be discussedhereinafter. Hence, when the removal by the second remover 22 iscompleted, the insulation coating 8 of the portion will have beencompletely removed from all the first to the fourth side surfaces 3 to 6(refer to FIG. 2).

Further, concurrently with the removal of the insulation coating 8 atthe first removal position P1 a and the second removal position P2 a,the conducting wire material 2 is cut by the conducting wire materialcutter 14. Thus, the coil segment 32 d is formed, which has the lengthLd corresponding to the feeding amount fd in the feed of the conductingwire material 2 immediately before the state illustrated in FIG. 4A isreached.

FIG. 4B illustrates the first removal position P1 b and the secondremoval position P2 b at the processing time T immediately after theconducting wire material 2 has been fed by the feeding amount fa fromthe state illustrated in FIG. 4A. The second removal position P2 bindicates a position that is apart from the cutting position CP by thefeeding amount fb for the next feed. The first removal position P1 bindicates a position that is further apart by the feeding amount fc forthe subsequent feed.

In the state illustrated in FIG. 4B, the insulation coating 8 is removedby the first remover 21 at the first removal position P1 b within theprocessing time T. At the same time, the insulation coating 8 is removedby the second remover 22 at the second removal position P2 b.

The portion of the conducting wire material 2, the insulation coating 8of which is removed by the second remover 22 is the portion having theinsulation coating 8 thereof already removed at the first removalposition P1 a in the state of FIG. 4A. Hence, when the removal by thesecond remover 22 is completed, the insulation coating 8 of the portionof the conducting wire material 2 will have been completely removed fromall the first to the fourth side surfaces 3 to 6.

Further, concurrently with the removal of the insulation coating 8 atthe first removal position P1 b and the second removal position P2 b,the conducting wire material 2 is cut by the conducting wire materialcutter 14. Thus, the coil segment 32 a is formed, which has the lengthLa corresponding to the feeding amount fa in the feed of the conductingwire material 2 when the state of FIG. 4A is changed to the state ofFIG. 4B.

FIG. 4C illustrates the first removal position P1 c and the secondremoval position P2 c at the processing time T immediately after theconducting wire material 2 has been fed by the feeding amount fb fromthe state illustrated in FIG. 4B. The second removal position P2 cindicates a position that is apart from the cutting position CP by thefeeding amount fc for the next feed. The first removal position P1 cindicates a position that is further apart by the feeding amount fd forthe subsequent feed.

In the state illustrated in FIG. 4C, the insulation coating 8 is removedby the first remover 21 at the first removal position P1 c within theprocessing time T. At the same time, the insulation coating 8 is removedby the second remover 22 at the second removal position P2 c.

The portion of the conducting wire material 2, the insulation coating 8of which is removed by the second remover 22 is the portion having theinsulation coating 8 thereof already removed at the first removalposition P1 b in the state of FIG. 4B. Hence, when the removal by thesecond remover 22 is completed, the insulation coating 8 of the portionof the conducting wire material 2 will have been completely removed fromall the first to the fourth side surfaces 3 to 6.

Further, concurrently with the removal of the insulation coating 8 atthe first removal position P1 c and the second removal position P2 c,the conducting wire material 2 is cut by the conducting wire materialcutter 14. Thus, the coil segment 32 b is formed, which has the lengthLb corresponding to the feeding amount fb in the feed of the conductingwire material 2 when the state of FIG. 4B is changed to the state ofFIG. 4C.

FIG. 4D illustrates the first removal position P1 d and the secondremoval position P2 d at the processing time T immediately after theconducting wire material 2 has been fed by the feeding amount fc fromthe state illustrated in FIG. 4C. The second removal position P2 dindicates a position that is apart from the cutting position CP by thefeeding amount fd for the next feed. The first removal position P1 dindicates a position that is further apart by the feeding amount fa forthe subsequent feed.

In the state illustrated in FIG. 4D, the insulation coating 8 is removedby the first remover 21 at the first removal position P1 d within theprocessing time T. At the same time, the insulation coating 8 is removedby the second remover 22 at the second removal position P2 d.

The portion of the conducting wire material 2, the insulation coating 8of which is removed by the second remover 22 is the portion having theinsulation coating 8 thereof already removed at the first removalposition P1 c in the state of FIG. 4C. Hence, when the removal by thesecond remover 22 is completed, the insulation coating 8 of the portionof the conducting wire material 2 will have been completely removed fromall the first to the fourth side surfaces 3 to 6.

Further, concurrently with the removal of the insulation coating 8 atthe first removal position P1 d and the second removal position P2 d,the conducting wire material 2 is cut by the conducting wire materialcutter 14. Thus, the coil segment 32 c is formed, which has the lengthLc corresponding to the feeding amount fc in the feed of the conductingwire material 2 when the state of FIG. 4C is changed to the state ofFIG. 4D.

As described above, the coil segment manufacturing apparatus 1manufactures the coil segments 32 a to 32 d, which have the insulationcoatings 8 of both ends of which have been removed and which have thefour different lengths La to Ld, from the conducting wire material 2provided with the insulation coating 8. At this time, as illustrated inFIG. 5, the feeding step (step S1), the removal step (step S2), thecutting step (step S3), and the removal position changing step (step S4)are repeatedly carried out.

Specifically, in the feeding step (step S1), the feeding operation forfeeding the conducting wire material 2 along the feeding route 9 isperformed as described above. The feeding operation, during which thefeeding amount is changed among the four different feeding amounts fa tofd corresponding to the four different lengths La to Ld is repeated,with the processing time T being interposed between the feedingoperations, until the end of the manufacture is determined in step S5.

In the removal step (step S2), each time the feeding step (step S1) iscarried out, the insulation coating 8 of the conducting wire material 2is removed within the corresponding processing time Tat the removalpositions (the first removal position P1 a to P1 d and the secondremoval position P2 a to P2 d) on the feeding route 9 corresponding tothe feeding amount fa, fb, fc or fd related to the particular feedingoperation. The removal step includes a first removal step for removingthe insulation coating 8 of the first side surface 3 and the second sidesurface 4 and a second removal step for removing the insulation coating8 of the third side surface 5 and the fourth side surface 6.

In the cutting step (step S3), each time the processing time T isreached, the portion having the insulation coating 8 removed therefromby the removal step is cut at the cutting position CP within theprocessing time T concurrently with the foregoing removal step.

In the removal position changing step (step S4), the foregoing removalpositions (the first removal position P1 and the second removal positionP2) are changed in synchronization with the change of the feedingamounts fa to fd. The removal positions are changed among the firstremoval positions P1 a to P1 d for the first removal position P1 andamong the second removal positions P2 a to P2 d for the second removalposition P2 such that the insulation coating 8 is removed at the portionwhere the conducting wire material 2 is cut.

According to the present embodiment, the first removal position P1 andthe second removal position P2 are changed in synchronization with thechange among the feeding amounts fa to fd of the conducting wirematerial 2 such that the insulation coating 8 is removed at the portionthat includes the position at which the conducting wire material 2 iscut. Further, the removal of the insulation coating 8 and the cutting ofthe conducting wire material 2 are concurrently carried out within theprocessing time T. This makes it possible to efficiently manufacture thecoil segments 32 a to 32 d of the four different lengths La to Ld by asimple apparatus construction.

To remove the insulation coating 8 of the conducting wire material 2,the insulation coating 8 on the first side surface 3 and the second sidesurface 4 is removed at the first removal position P1 by the firstremover 21, while the insulation coating 8 on the third side surface 5and the fourth side surface 6 is removed at the second removal positionP2 by the second remover 22. Hence, the insulation coating 8 of theconducting wire material 2, which is a rectangular wire, can be removedby a simple construction.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above.For example, the number of the different lengths of the coil segments tobe manufactured is not limited to four. Further, the insulation coating8 may be removed at one or three or more removal positions. Further, theconducting wire material 2 is not limited to the rectangular wire, butmay have a round cross section.

What is claimed is:
 1. A coil segment manufacturing apparatus formanufacturing coil segments in which insulation coatings of both endshave been removed and which have a plurality of different lengths, froma coil conducting wire material provided with an insulation coating,comprising: a conducting wire material feeder which feeds the conductingwire material along a feeding route by a plurality of different feedingamounts corresponding to the plurality of different lengths; a coatingremover which removes the insulation coating of the conducting wirematerial at a removal position on the feeding route; and a conductingwire material cutter which cuts the conducting wire material at apredetermined cutting position on the feeding route; wherein the coatingremover is configured to change the removal position according to thefeeding amounts.
 2. The coil segment manufacturing apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the conducting wire material feeder repeats afeeding operation to feed the conducting wire material by interposing apredetermined processing time, and the coating remover and theconducting wire material cutter perform the removal and the cuttingrespectively, within the predetermined processing time.
 3. The coilsegment manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein theconducting wire material has four side surfaces including a first sidesurface to a fourth side surface, the coating remover comprises: a firstremover which removes the insulation coating of the first side surfaceof the conducting wire material and the second side surface thereofwhich is an opposite side of the first side surface, at a first removalposition; and a second remover which removes, at a second removalposition, the insulation coating of the third side surface and thefourth side surface at a same portion as the portion of the conductingwire material, at which the insulation coating have been removed by thefirst remover, wherein the first remover and the second remover performthe removing within the predetermined processing time.
 4. The coilsegment manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theconducting wire material has four side surfaces including a first sidesurface to a fourth side surface, the coating remover comprises: a firstremover which removes the insulation coating of the first side surfaceof the conducting wire material and the second side surface thereofwhich is an opposite side of the first side surface, at a first removalposition; and a second remover which removes, at a second removalposition, the insulation coating of the third side surface and thefourth side surface at a same portion as the portion of the conductingwire material, at which the insulation coating have been removed by thefirst remover, wherein the first remover and the second remover move ona common rail.
 5. The coil segment manufacturing apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the coating remover is configured to change the removalposition at a feeding time when the conducting wire material feeder isfeeding the conductive wire material.